We're certainly paying a lot for the tiny super computers in our pockets, aren't we?
Paying To Pay To Use A Phone
"Cellphone service fees." ~ marie-llama
"It's insane. I just got here and wanted to setup a phone plan. Visited 3 store until I understood this where the regular prices. I'm not even paying a 10th in Europe of what I'm paying here." ~ FarmingFriend
Need To Account For That Markup
"Pretty much anything tech-related will be sold for about the same amount in USD as GBP."
"The exchange rate is 73p to the USD."
"We are paying a 37% markup on everything." ~ UnloadTheBacon
Canada, Eh?
"Mobile data. Canada pays some of the highest prices in the world for mobile data." ~ habsrule29
"In Finland I pay about 20€ for unlimited phone calls, text messages and data (they are truly unlimited)." ~ genus
"20 dollars in canada gets you about 100 minutes calling, free texts and 200mb of internet lol, its unreal" ~ DoubleAd7712
It isn't just America, before you go assuming we're the most over costed country in the world.
Turns out others might have to be paying a lot more than we are for goods and services.
If You Can Even Get One...
"I'm from south Africa and an Xbox Series X is about R11000" ~ MetropoliceKZN
Conversion, Anyone?
"An RTX 3090."
"Jokes aside, gas at the moment. It used to be €1.60 per litre. Now it's up to €2.05 per litre. When we go to Germany for some gasoline it's around €1.60 where it used to be between €1.30 - €1.45" ~ derypguy47472
"F*ck! That's $9.01 a gallon!! At to think I was bummed gas here is ~$3.75/gal (~€0.86/L?)" ~ sirdabs
Gotta Get That Vitamin C
"oranges in sweden. I used to live in the mediterrenean and kick them off the sidewalk."
"But Im ok since salmon is way cheaper here." ~ Unlucky_Mistake1412
Paying A Lot For The Bare Minimum
"Housing. It's a travesty." ~ GothTheLife88
"Tell me you live in NZ without telling me you live in NZ..." ~ lancewithwings
"As an Aussie, NZ is my affordable alternative."
"Good luck finding a beach front peice of land for 200k here with a less than 1 hour commute to the city."
"Plus, in NZ, you can buy old houses and have then transported on a truck."
"I was doing math the other day"
"Beach front land - $195k"
"Restored 1920s house - $90-110k"
"Transport, foundation setting and connection - $75k-$100k"
"Approx $400k for a really great set up. In Australia you pay more than that for a sh-t apartment that catches fire, in a leaning building, with no resale value." ~ JustHell0
Obscure Opinions People Are Fully Committing To | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
We all have a set of beliefs about even the smallest of topics. Like sandwiches should have structural integrity. That's something we can all agree on, right...
Contrasts Between The Two
"Most things in Australia except food…a trip to the US is an eye opener re cars,clothes,electronics etc…" ~ MegGrunt
"I would expect food here to be substantially more costly than the US. Take out is real expensive unless you're buying something very unhealthy like Maccas, which frankly doesn't seem cheap either" ~ angrathias
"American supermarkets are weirdly expensive. Their restaurants are crazy, crazy cheap" ~ lamiscaea
People Need Their Chocolate
"Freddo bars are so bloody expensive these days it's a national disgrace lol" ~ Angrypenguinwaddle96
USA! USA!
USA? Are we really "the best" when we can't take care of the people who need it the most?
Ohhh, Bootstraps. That's All We Need.
"Housing, childcare, and medical services/insurance." ~ PNW_Soccer-Mom
"Geeze bud. Don't buy a house have kids or get sick if you can't afford it. Do you have bootstraps you could try? /s" ~ FilledwithTegridy
Step one: acquire bootstraps
Step two: pull
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit" ~ cheyras
Bread. It's Always The Bread.
"Bread. I'm in the States, and have been for just over a year (yep, that new to Reddit), as you can guess by my username. $4 a loaf for anything that isn't completely sh*t. It's bad."
"Grocery shopping in general is definitely expensive here. I've lived in the UK (more than half my life having been born there), Croatia for 12 years, Germany and Austria for a few years each, and have travelled a lot. The U.S. is really expensive for groceries in comparison to a living wage."
"Oh yeah, and the healthcare, but that's just a f-cking joke right?" ~ An-Englishman-in-NY
Just Pay Your Workers? Maybe?
"Tipping. Not just restaurant waitstaff but everyone…at hair salons, hotels, taxis, coffee, tour guide or anything travel related, bar. It's no problem to tip the individuals trying to make a living, but it's ridiculous that we as patrons are expected to pay for these companies labor costs based on how the US functions" ~ ericjo383
"It's getting really out of control in the beauty service industry especially. Lots of people rent a small room or just a chair in a salon to say, do lash extensions or hair coloring. Or they own their own salon outright. These aren't people making under minimum wage and working for someone else. They own their own business and set their own prices. And yet they still demand a 20% tip minimum."
"Just charge me the price you expect to make and don't do this BS tip song and dance that just makes it awkward for everyone."
"Have the time they also act like they're doing you a huge favor by even allowing you to be graced by their presence. Thankfully with YouTube I've learned to just do everything myself." ~ hellohello9898
Beef! Beef! Maybe Medicine. Beef!
"In the US, health care and beef. A good ribeye is $15 to $18 per pound. I know beef is more in other countries. But we have a ton of cows and grazing land here. There's no reason for it. And for health care, back in the 90s, I paid $10,000 for an MRI. I'm sure it's more now."
"When I lived in Uruguay, some of the best grass-fed beef in the world was $5/lb for a porterhouse. On the other hand, anything car related in Uruguay is ridiculous. Cars cost double to triple what they do in the US. Repair parts are double or triple. And gas is $8 per gallon. This in a country where the average salary is $500 per month. How would you like to pay $90,000 for a base model Camaro?" ~ user deleted
Because, Capitalism.
"Insulin." ~ Buddhafisticuff
"Sorry.... How..... How is that the most expensive... It's literally free?.... Oh.... American I presume?" ~ JustARandomBoyo
"Our country charges $1000 for a life saving medicine that other countries charge $30 for because Capitalism." ~ Buddhafisticuff
Leaving Hawaii To Hang With Their Pricey Milk
"In the 50th state."
"Milk and gas."
"7 bucks a gallon "
"try and guess which one I'm talking about." ~ Affectionate-Kick-25
"Hawaii or Alaska?"
"I can get mine for $2.72/gallon"
"We do have to have lactaid, so I actually pay $5.72/gallon" ~ imjustbrowsing96
Be smart, try to see when someone is trying to pull one over on you, and always be willing to walk away to find a better deal when you can. That's not always going to be possible, but it's important to try.
